Cursed Children
by ThexWhitexPhoenix
Summary: Two children were cursed from a young age and because of humanity's fear of the unknown they were cast away. Now they look for an old friend for they believe they are in trouble. Along the way they come across Bilbo and thirteen dwarves. Will they finally find a home?
1. Chapter 1

Author: Alright, I've decided to try, keyword: try, to write a fic from The Hobbit, which will follow the movie plot. And that is thanks to CabinFever who's the author of Declaration of Strangeness. It's awesome, hurry up and read it!

**Disclaimer: Everything but my OC's belongs to Tolkien, the creator of Middle-Earth.**

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"Oh, what a foul stench!" A young blonde girl, clad in a brown hunters outfit with a grey hooded cloak around her shoulders, said as she covered her nose standing before an abandoned troll cave. Well, abandoned might have been a strong word. The trolls that used it regularly were probably the ones who had turned to stone in a clearing not too far from where she stood. The girl took a few steps into the cave before turning around and stared at her companion who had yet to move from their spot twenty feet away from the cave.

"Well? Are you not coming?" Her companion did not answer but merely turned their head away, rejecting the idea. "Alright, I understand. It is too hard for you." Asta was the girl's name, her long, blonde braided hair reached her middle-back and her icy blue eyes missed nothing. She turned to the cave once more before shaking her head and walking back to her friend for she had no desire to enter the cave at all.

"Are you sure he was here?" Her friend nodded and she sighed before she heard the howls of wargs in the distance. Her companion was up on her feet in a second and had turned towards the sounds as well.

"Thora!" Asta yelled and jumped onto the back of her friend who was a great black wolf with yellow eyes. The black wolf, Thora, wasted no time in following the sounds and Asta clung on the fur though she knew her mount would never throw her off or let her fall off either. Soon they left the forest they had been in and were out in an open field, where there were only rocks and grass. The soft paws thumping against the ground as they gained on the wargs that seemed to have found their prey, for their howls had become louder and soon the shrieks of their riders could be heard too. When they finally had found the wargs, Thora stopped short and Asta knew why. Her wolf-friend was surprised to see and old man in brown garb standing on a sleigh led by rabbits, _rabbits_, with an orc pack behind him. What surprised Asta the most was that the rabbits seemed to be able to keep ahead of the wargs and their riders.

"Bless me, that is something I never expected to see. Is that Radagast?" She laughed but suddenly the wargs stopped and the orcs turned their head in every direction and so did Thora. "What is it?" Asta leaned down and the wolf tensed her muscles before leaping up and after the wargs who had taken off at an impressive speed in the opposite direction of which the old man had gone. Radagast turned his head and shook it before taking off, leaving the plain and going into the forest again. He had done all that he could. Thora did not keep up with the speed of the wargs as well as Asta would have liked and it was not because she was unable to keep up with their speed but rather because she would not go any closer to the foul beasts than necessary and though Asta would normally would have felt the same way, for the two hated orcs and their allies with a passion, she was much too curious about whatever the orc pack was after. Soon, though almost impossible to hear as the beasts snarled and the orcs screamed, Asta wondered if she had heard a voice. A voice that belonged to no orc but maybe a man.

"Come on, hurry!" Her blue eyes could see shapes in the distance and saw that several of them jumped and disappeared down a hole. "That group is their prey!" She realized and Thora sped up. Something was urging her friend towards the group that was trying to escape and Asta knew better than to not trust the wolf for she had never led her astray before.

"Kíli!" Now that she was closer she could see that the group she thought to be men were dwarves and that the one who was the farthest away from the tall one that called on him carried a bow.

_An archer. He is too far away!_ Asta thought and as the young dwarf, Kíli, glanced over his shoulder he saw a warg leaped at him. He should not have looked behind for that made him trip over a rock and he fell to the ground.

Thorin watched in horror as his nephew tripped and fell and the warg that had leaped at him closed in on him, the orc on its back screeching in victory and held its sword high.

"Kíli! No!" He knew that no matter how fast he ran he would never be able to reach them before it was too late and he would not be able to hit neither the warg nor orc either with a knife if he threw one but then something akin to a miracle happened. An arrow flew true and hit the orc in its ear and it fell off his mount, dead. The beast made no sign that it knew that its rider had fallen off until another beast's teeth and claws attached themselves to its throat and sent it flying away from its target. It howled and tried to fight but the attacker already had a good grip on its throat and then it knew no more.

"Come now!" A hand grabbed Kíli's arm and hauled him up on his feet as he stared at a girl that was not much taller than him and probably much younger for she was a human girl but she was strong enough to get him up on his feet. She ushered him towards Thorin who waved his arm and called on him.

"Go!" He stumbled forward before catching himself and glancing behind again to watch the girl notch another arrow to the bow string before letting it fly and embed itself in another orcs' head. The wolf snarled and fended off attacks from the wargs after the girl killed the riders. The dwarf jumped into the hole and his uncle came after him but not before hesitating for the girl and her beast had saved his nephew's life but she had yelled for him to hide as well and so he did.

"The girl?" Kíli asked but before Thorin could answer the sounds of horns were heard and the sound was not from the horns of orcs. An orc fell down into the hole they were hiding in but they had no need to worry about it for it was already dead, an arrow embedded into its throat. Thorin pulled the arrow out and just as quickly he let it drop to the ground.

"Elves!" He turned his hard eyes on Gandalf who met his stare without showing a hint of remorse or any surprise that elves had interfered and killed the orcs above them.

"I cannot see where the pathway leads!" Dwalin yelled, for he had gone a bit further than the others to examine the passage. "Do we follow it or not?"

"Follow it, of course!" Bofur replied and hurried after Dwalin who led the way through the passages. Thorin waited for a moment to see if the girl and her beast would follow but they did not and therefore he followed his company through the passages, and all the while they kept their eyes up to avoid any unpleasant surprises from above for there was no roof, and already his mind began to realize where Gandalf had been leading them though he had no proof until they stepped out of the tunnels and into the light. Beside the exit there was a small stream that fell from the mountain side and into the valley before them. The valley of Imladris, Gandalf told them and Bilbo muttered the name used in the Common Tongue in awe. Rivendell. While twelve dwarves and one hobbit stared at the valley in awe Thorin was less amused.

"This was your plan all along." He accused the old wizard who turned his gaze on the tall dwarf. "To seek refuge with our enemy." Thorin would never forget the betrayal of the elves and he would not forgive it either. He had made that very clear at the beginning of their journey for he remembered how his home had been taken from him, how the City of Dale had burned and how many lives had been lost while the elves only turned a blind eye to the whole catastrophe.

"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield." Gandalf replied in a stern tone. "The only ill-will to be found in this valley is the one you bring with you yourself!"

At the same time Asta was riding her mount, Thora, again but this time she was spurring her wolf to keep up with the horses that the elves of Rivendell and their lord were riding. They kept at a fast pace but the wolf had no problem in keeping up, even if she lagged behind at the end of the group to keep herself from exhausting her strength. She had thanked the Lord Elrond for saving them. He had at first stared at Thora with furrowed brows but had almost at once realized the situation and bade them follow him back to Imladris so they would be able to rest peacefully and fill their empty stomachs, for much to Asta's embarrassment her stomach had started to growl in the middle of her thanking the elf lord.

It did not take them more than a few hours to return to the Last Homely House East of the Sea. Already there were the company of thirteen dwarves, one wizard and a hobbit. Suddenly they began to yell and huddled together as the horses circled them. Thora gave sound close to a snort and Asta tilted her head to the side as she watched Elrond jump off his horse and embrace Gandalf.

"Gandalf!" She yelled and jumped off Thora, running over to the old wizard and embraced him, almost knocking him off-balance for she had not stopped in front of him but rather she ran straight into him.

"Omph!" Gandalf staggered before putting a hand on the girl's shoulder and pulling her back to inspect her. A look of recognition crossed his face as she beamed up at him and he tilted his head back and laughed loudly before embracing her as well.

"Bless me, if it isn't young Asta!" He looked up to see the wolf trot up to him as well and he scratched her behind her ears. "And Thora as well. Now this is a pleasant surprise!" The dwarves stared at Thora for only Kili and Thorin had seen the two before and only now did the dwarf king and his nephew see how tall the wolf was. Thin and agile she looked but when she stood straight she was as tall as Thorin.

"You know them, Gandalf?" Elrond asked with a smile as Gandalf released Asta. "Yes, my old friend, indeed I, do but that is a tale I would rather not speak of out here and neither would I speak of it on an empty stomach." Elrond turned towards the dwarves (and one hobbit) and welcomed them, asking them in his own tongue if they would like a meal. Glóin, who did not understand elvish all that well together with his comrades, growled up at the elven lord, thinking he was throwing insults at them. Gandalf intervened quickly and cleared the misunderstanding before it developed into a fight. That, the dwarves, accepted and followed the elves inside.

Asta felt a bit embarrassed yet again, for the clothing she wore, a simple hunters outfit, was far from clean after the battle with the orcs and wargs, not to mention she was still sure that she smelled a bit from when she had almost entered the troll cave only a few hours earlier. Thora assured her that she did not smell. The wolf did so by rubbing her snout against Asta's shirt. Still, she felt like she was small and insignificant as she entered the room in which the elves ate their supper and wondered where she would sit. Gandalf had not yet arrived and she wished dearly that he would, so she had someone to talk to. The elves were playing their flutes and harps dissolving the tension she felt but still she waited for Gandalf. Beside her, Thora flattened her ears to her skull, as if she was trying to block out the music and Asta figured the sound was a bit too loud for her companion. She noticed that one of the dwarves put a napkin in the ear-trumpet which he held to his ear. She guessed him to have trouble hearing.

As she thought about leaving the room and stand outside while waiting for the wizard one of the dwarves stood up and called on her.

"My lady, come sit with us so I can properly thank you for saving our friend here!" He looked to be one of the oldest among the company with his long white beard and short hair but he also looked to be the one most gentle. She smiled gratefully at him as she sat beside him.

"My dear lady, thank you again for saving Kili here." Here, he gestured to said dwarf who grinned at her and stood up, walked to her and bowed before taking her hand in his and kissing it.

"Thank you, my lady." She smiled at him with a nod. "It was my pleasure is what I'd like to say, but I only killed the orc. Thora was the one who stopped the warg." She turned to her wolf that was scratched behind the ears in thanks by Kili. The dwarf nodded to the wolf and his smile turned wider.

"Aye, I do owe you thanks as well." He said before he went back to his seat. Thora laid her head on Asta's lap and let out a puff of air as she sat on the floor.

"If I might ask, where did you come by this companion of yours? She's quite big for a normal wolf, if it is not witchcraft that made her so. Oh, how rude of me. My name is Balin, at your service." He stood up and bowed to her and she did the same. The others hurried on their feet as well to introduce themselves to her.

"Asta, at yours." She said and sat down and grabbed a glass of wine, taking a sip. "As for Thora, she's been with me all my life."

"Oh? A tamed wolf to protect you?" Thora snorted from her perch and Asta laughed. "Oh, no, not at all, Mr. Balin."

"Thora is Asta's older sister." An old sagely voice said from behind them and she turned to see Gandalf the Grey standing behind her with Thorin and Elrond.

"Gandalf!" She exclaimed happily and Thora bounded up and stood in front of him with a look that demanded that he pet her. He laughed good-naturedly and did as told and she made a sound close to a purr when he scratched her behind her ears. That seemed to be a soft sport of hers.

"Sisters, Mr. Gandalf?" Dori asked with a confused expression on his face alongside with his comrades. "How can that be?"

"That, Master Dwarf, is a tale for another time. I believe there is a reason that you two appeared just in time to save young Kíli over there, aren't there?" Asta nodded at him with a small smile. "Then, if it is all the same to Thorin, I will have you two follow us as we continue our journey and then you will tell me why you sought us out." Gandalf had turned to Thorin as he spoke and the dwarf lord stared at both Asta and then Thora for a long while before he nodded.

"They saved one of our own. I will allow it." And with that he followed Elrond to the head table. Gandalf winked at the girl and wolf before following and sitting down with them.

"What is on your mind Thorin?" Gandalf asked for after Elrond had told them of their newfound swords names' Thorin had been watching Thora and Asta, his eyes curious. When the wizard spoke he glanced at him before nodding his head at the girls.

"Their names, they-"

"Yes, their names originate from Dale." Sharply the dwarf king turned back to the wizard who smiled.

"Their grandfather's family was one of the few fortunate enough to escape Smaug when he attacked Erebor sixty years ago. You will not regret taking them with you; they are excellent cooks, considering the skills of your company." Gandalf chuckled and again Thorin turned his eyes back to the girls and wondered again what their story was.

Soon enough Asta was taken in by the dwarves antics and a few hours later, when the sky had turned dark Thorin, Gandalf, Balin and even Bilbo followed Elrond. The dwarfs were ushered to a room they could spend the night in and Asta and Thora joined them.

"How is it that you are the sister of a wolf?" Dori asked again and she laughed. "That is a story for another time; Gandalf said so, did he not? Even so, there is probably none other than him who could tell it properly." She answered. Dori frowned but let her off and she joined the dwarfs in when they sang and danced. Their voices may not have been beautifully clear like the elves but their deep baritone voices still made their songs sound beautiful all the same. And the vigor in their happy tunes called forth more laughter and smiles from her, even happy barks from Thora.

As the night dragged on, and the laughter eventually died down, Asta realized that Thora had disappeared from her side. That was most surprising since she had never left her side before. She looked around for her sister until she saw her laying on the ground beside the couch in which Kíli was sitting on. One hand was on his pipe as he smoked and the other rested on Thora's head, occasionally scratching her behind her ears or letting his fingers glide through her soft fur. He seemed to be in deep thought and as she looked around she noticed that the others were as well. They were still talking but that was only a few. They had broken down the furniture in the room to make a fire and were now making their own supper for the elves' food had not been satisfactory.

"No meat." The dwarves had said. She only shook her head at their antics. "Bombur!" Bofur suddenly exclaimed. She turned to see what was going and saw Bofur throw Bombur a sausage. The table, which Bombur was sitting on groaned under his weight and when he caught the sausage a crack could be heard and in no less than a second the dwarf was lying on top of a pile of splintered wood. Every last dwarf fell over laughing, clutching their stomachs as their muscles contracted under the activity and those who sat on furniture themselves tried hard not to fall off as they laughed.

Just then Thorin, Balin and Bilbo walked in and watched as the rest of the company tried hard to calm themselves down in front of their leader but it showed to be a hard task for every time they glanced at the still rolling Bombur who could not for the life of him get up on his feet they fell into new fits of laughter, rolling around on the floor themselves. Thorin shook his head and walked past them, hiding a smile before he began packing their packs. This the others noticed and immediately they stopped laughing and Bombur stopped trying to get on his feet.

"Are we leaving?" Fíli asked and Thorin nodded. "We leave at once. We have acquired information about the hidden door. If we do not hurry, it will be closed to us. Gandalf advised me in taking you two as well." He glanced at Asta whose eyes widened in surprise. This set every last dwarf up and running in a hurry, packing their equipment and provisions. Asta hurried to do the same with her and her sister's provisions and put the pack on her back. Thora had gotten up on her four legs and followed the dwarves as they stealthily, or as stealthy as a dwarf could go, left Elrond's house. Luckily for them, they had left just in time to avoid being detected by Lindir who had ventured to them to see if there was anything they needed.

The poor elf nearly fainted at the sight of the state the room was in after its inhabitants had left.

At the same time as the dwarves prepared themselves to leave, Gandalf was walking with Elrond.

"Are you sure about this? Sending those two girls with the dwarves?" Elrond questioned and Gandalf nodded. "That they appeared when we needed help the most is no coincidence. They were looking for me. I do not know why but I intend to find out." The old wizard had told Elrond about the girls and about their situation. How one was a wolf and the other was a human.

"If they indeed are the cursed children who appeared sixteen years ago, would it not be wise to hide them?"

"And where would you hide them, Lord Elrond? Here in Rivendell? I have many doubts and fears about these two children and if my fears are true, then you will not hide them here willingly." The subject agitated the old wizard greatly. "They are mere innocent children! And I will _not _let them be used!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Everything but my OC's belongs to Tolkien, the creator of Middle-Earth.**

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"Is it really alright to leave your room in such a state?" Asta asked Thorin. She had kept to the head of the company since she had longer legs than them. Thorin merely glanced at her for a second before turning his attention back to the direction in which they were heading. Not even an hour had passed and they weren't even half-way out of the valley. The sun was slowly making itself known in the horizon and the light returned to Imladris.

"I have no love for the elves. They may have taken us in, but they did not approve of our quest, not that I thought they would. I owe them nothing." Asta let out a silent snort and shook her head. This man, dwarf, was so stubborn. The rest of the walk was continued in silence until they, a mere hour later, closed in on the spot where they had entered Rivendell.

"Be on your guard." Thorin stopped and let Balin pass him by as he gave them his warning. "We are about to pass onto the edge of the wild. Balin, you know these paths. You will lead us on." Bilbo stopped and turned his gaze back to Rivendell. In the morning light it was absolutely astounding and awe-inspiring, even more so than in the middle of the day or when the sun set and disappeared behind the mountains. The waterfalls behind Elrond's house glittered in the morning light as it let the water fall all around it. It was almost like it glowed and he thought to himself that it probably did. Elves and their objects alike could glow in the right light or even without it. His heart felt heavy as he stared at the valley he most probably would not see again for a long time. He might never see it again, he realized. It all depended on the outcome of Thorin and his company's quest.

"Beautiful is it not?" He nodded at Asta's voice. She seemed to be standing close to him and he briefly wondered if she had walked back to him since the last time he had seen her she had been walking beside Thorin. He cast away the thought as quickly as it had come for again he felt his heart fall lower in his chest as he tried to drink in the image of Rivendell before he had to turn his back to it.

"Master Baggins!" Thorin called. Bilbo did not turn around. "I suggest you keep up." Now Bilbo did turn and after a while he nodded and left the valley without looking back.

Balin did not lead them through the pathways that Gandalf had led them through on their way to the valley. Instead he took them around and onto the top of the mountains that surrounded Rivendell. From there on he led them straight over the plains and hills.

"How did you end up in Master Oakenshield's company, Mr. Baggins?" Asta asked when the sun stood high above them. The hobbit, who had been in deep thought jumped startled and stared at the human woman beside him who began to take off her backpack. He looked at the others and noticed that none were making movements to make camp. When he turned back he saw that Asta had taken her pack off to put it on Thora's back. Stopping for only a moment she tied it so that it wouldn't fall off before she jogged up to the hobbit again with her sister right behind her.

"Well?"

"Well what?" He asked, having completely forgotten her question.

"How did you end up in Master Oakenshield's company, Mr. Baggins?" She repeated her question.

"Just Bilbo is fine, thank you." The Hobbit smiled before he recounted the tale of how he had told Gandalf that he would not, under any circumstances, join in an adventure. At supper time he heard knocking on his door and wondered who could be out at that time of the day. He had been mighty surprised to see Dwalin stand outside his door. He had been even more surprised when he, for the fourth time had gone to open the door and in rolled eight more dwarves with Gandalf behind them. He also told her how the dwarves had almost given him a heart attack over how they had treated his mother's plates, glasses and silverware. This caused her to laugh loudly and the others wondered what was so funny. When they realized what Bilbo was telling her about they could not resist adding their own twists to the tale.

"So you did not join them out of your own free will?" Asta asked and Bilbo pursed his lips while somehow shaking his head while at the same time nodding.

"Gandalf kind of made my Took blood boil. You see, I may be a Baggins of Bag-End but I'm also a Took, and Tooks are more adventurous than the rest of the Shire-folk."

"While Bagginses are like the rest of the Shire-folk?" Asta asked and Bilbo nodded. "We are completely respectable. We never even _think_ of going on adventures. They're nasty, horrible things. They make you late for dinner!"

"Yet here you are." The hobbit who had straightened his back as he spoke of his family name proudly suddenly slumped at her words. "Yes, here I am." He muttered. She clapped his back and smiled.

"You seem to hold on well Bilbo. You've seen the elves, you have been in Rivendell and you survived an attack by wargs and orcs. I think that Took blood of yours is stronger than your Baggins blood." Again Bilbo smiled, wider this time than the last, and his spirits rose again.

"Thank you Ms. Asta."

"Please, call me Asta. You make me feel old." She joked and he laughed as well before getting a thoughtful look on his face.

"Pardon me asking you Ms. Ast- I mean Asta, but for how many years can a human live? I have never stepped out of the Shire before this adventure so I know very little about the humans."

"Oh some live to a hundred maybe, if they're lucky. And before you ask, I am twenty-one." Bilbo turned red in the face and muttered something about it being rude to ask a lady their age.

"That is why I told you, so that you would not need to ask and before you ask about Thora, she is already twenty-five." Again heat gathered in Bilbo's face and his ears turned red. Beside her, Thora barked in amusement but after that there were no more conversations for hours. When they were halfway to the Misty Mountains, a trek that had lasted for a week, they had a small break where they ate and rested for they had not slept a wink the night they stayed with the elves. Many of the dwarves fell asleep on the spot while the younger ones, Kíli and Fíli to be specific, kept awake and took the assignment of being look-outs.

Asta and Thora slipped away and went to a river nearby to freshen up. They had not been able to earlier in Rivendell and Asta at least had regretted that fact and was overjoyed when Thorin called for a break. The break lasted no more than an hour before they were all on their feet again, marching towards the mountain with greater speed than before. They hoped to reach it before nightfall the next day. That, they managed, but when they had climbed it and were on their way around it the clouds gathered and a thunderstorm had broken out.

The rain made the already tricky and slim ledges trickier. The rain and the wind both hindered their sight and drenched them to the bone. Not even a minute after Thorin warned them to be careful Bilbo slipped and fell forward but Dwalin and Bofur grabbed a hold of him and pulled him back, though they had almost fallen with him.

"This cannot go on, Thorin!" Asta yelled over the rain and the dwarf-king agreed. "We must find shelter!" He bellowed but just then Dwalin yelled out again.

"Look up!" They all did and did not hesitate even for a moment to flatten themselves into the mountain wall for boulders rained down upon them.

"This is no thunderstorm! It's a thunderbattle!" Balin cried out and Bofur stared amazed at the stone giants that moved and fought each other, seemingly oblivious to the dwarves, hobbit and humans, or perhaps they chose to be remain so.

"Well bless me! The legends are true! Giants, STONE GIANTS!" Bofur had to yell to be heard over the howling wind, falling rain and the sound of rock gnashing against rock.

"Take cover you fool!" Thorin bellowed over the noise and Bofur was hastily pulled back against the wall by his friends. Suddenly the ledge they were standing on began to move as well and they were nearly all thrown off their feet though they all held on to each other and tried to make sure no one fell off. They soon realized that they were standing on what resembled a stone giant's knees as it rose to engage in battle as well. As the knees moved apart Fíli and Kíli tried to reach for each other but Asta grabbed a hold of the blonde dwarf to stop him from falling of the ledge. Thora was standing in front of Kíli and howled to her sister in worry. Asta guessed that had Thora been in her human form her expression would probably mirror Kíli's. In fact she was certain that her own expression was a mirror image of the dark haired dwarf. They were momentarily blinded by the rain and darkness but when lightning struck Thorin saw that their giant had moved closer to the mountainside.

"Jump! Jump!" He ordered and ran forward, jumping onto the ledge and they all made it, none fell down the mountainside but half of their group was still trapped on the stone giant's knees. Suddenly their giant stumbled for it had been hit by another and the giant fell towards the mountain wall in front of them. In horror they watched as the other group was crushed into the mountain and they all cried out though none louder than Thorin.

"No! NO! Fíli!" Thorin ran across the ledge, despair thick in his voice for his sister-son had been part of the group that had been smashed into the mountainl. Thora howled loudly in sorrow for she thought her sister to be dead and they ran towards the smashed path as the giant fell down to the foot of the mountain.

"Fíli!" Thorin bellowed again and sagged against the mountain wall in relief when he saw that the whole group was unharmed. He hurried over to help them up on their feet when Bofur cried out in alarm as well.

"Bilbo! Where's the hobbit?!" The poor Halfling held onto the ledge for his dear life. He had jumped to avoid a sharp rock that had stuck out and had only just managed to grab the ledge before he fell. The dwarves threw themselves after him but he slipped and fell and only by pure luck did he manage to stick his fingers into a wedge in the mountain where he hang until Thorin jumped down on a small ledge beside him and hauled him up only to almost fall to his death himself, if not for Dwalin who pulled him up.

"I thought we had lost our burglar." Dwalin smiled in relief but over the crack of thunder Thorin's voice could be heard as he glared at the frightened Halfling.

"He's been lost ever since he left home! We never should have let him come." Asta found herself frowning at Thorin for she thought his words were badly chosen no matter if he thought them to be the truth. She could see the crestfallen look on Bilbo's face.

_I'm more Baggins than Took_ He thought.

"It could have happened to anyone Bilbo. Don't worry about it." She tried to reassure the hobbit but it seemed to have no effect.

Thorin led them at a greater pace now, away from the stone giants, and found a cave which he ordered to be examined closely. Caves in the mountains were seldom unoccupied, he told them. While Dwalin investigated Glóin rubbed his hands together and said he would get a fire started but Thorin forbade it. They would have to make do with having their clothes dry as much as it could in during the night without a fire. Bofur was ordered to take the first watch and he sat down by the entrance to the cave while the others laid out their cloaks to dry but just when they had taken off the clothes that were soaked the most Thora shook her body and droplets of water was sprayed on everyone.

"Thora! Stop it!" Asta cried but when the wolf finally did stop she did not seem to regret her actions, even if she received several glares from the dwarves. She lay down on the ground and allowed none other than Asta to rest her back against the wolf's fur. She laid there for a few moments, just listening to their companions speak and get ready for bed before she spoke up again.

"Do you still want to hear our story? It will take time for Gandalf to catch up, so if you want I can tell it to the best of my abilities." Her voice had been soft and quiet, barely able to carry over the voices of the men but it immediately became silent for now every last pair of eyes and ears were focused on the girl and the wolf.

"Tell us." The command came from Thorin, who was watching them intently. He had no patience to waste waiting for Gandalf.

"Where to even begin." She said as she let her hand slide through Thora's thick fur.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Everything but my OC's belongs to Tolkien, the creator of Middle-Earth.**

****Also, I realize this chapter is short, and I'm sorry, but it's just background information about _why_ they are alone in the wilderness but what I was going to say is that, though I've told some of you lovely readers already, that the story will be one chapter a month because I follow the movie-verse and not the book-verse. Anyway, there will be a lot of flashback chapters soon though, about the girls, and I hope you'll enjoy this. Reviews are much appreciated as always!

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Twenty-five years ago, in the middle of a harsh winter a child was born. It was during a night when the howls of both wargs and wolves could be heard as lightning struck and thunderclaps could be heard. If the sky had not been hid by black thunder clouds the full moon would have shone down on the tiny hut where a woman's screams could be heard echoing.

"Breathe!" The mid-wife told the blonde haired woman, whose name was Astrid, in a stern voice. "I can see the head!" Sitting behind his wife and holding her was the husband who was very worried and not to mention anxious. This was the birth of their first child and he, like many other first-time parents, was worried that something could go wrong.

"It's a girl!" The mid-wife suddenly exclaimed as a child's wailing could be heard while she cradled a bundle to herself. The only thing that could be seen was a tuft of black hair.

"Give her to me." The panting Astrid said in a shaky voice. Exhaustion was making it hard for her to keep her eyes open but she wanted to see her beloved first born child and to hold her before she fell asleep.

"Look Asabiarn." She whispered to her husband. The baby was still crying and would continue on for a while they knew but they welcomed it for it only showed that she was healthy.

"A fine pair of lungs indeed." Asabiarn smiled warmly and caressed the baby's cheeks. He was not a man who wanted only sons. His only wish was that his children would be born healthy and strong into the world. They blinked in surprise when the baby ceased its crying and opened her eyes, staring up at them with big brown eyes, gurgling and waving her arms.

"She has your eyes." Astrid smiled at her husband's comment and traced the baby's brow.

"What shall we call her?" She asked but just then a loud clap of thunder could be heard outside and the wolves howled again. There was a silence as Asabiarn stared out the window before turning back to his wife and first born.

"Thora." Asabiarn said after a moment. "She was born during a thunderstorm, so that is what we will name her."

Years passed and the girl grew. She loved to be outside with her father when he went into the woods but hated to do anything that resembled house chores with her mother. The girl loved her parents very much, of that there was no doubt, but she loved to be outside no matter if it was a sunny day or a stormy one. During the winter, on the exact same day as it had been four years ago, Astrid collapsed on the floor and yelled for her husband to find the mid-wife for now the second child was on its way out into the world as well. Hours passed before she was ready to give birth and by then it was well past midnight when the mid-wife finally told her to push. The only difference with this night was that there was no thunderstorm and neither was there any howls of any wild beast that existed in Middle-Earth. The night was silent and the moon and stars shone down. It was a cold night.

Thora was watching with wide eyes as her mother screamed and forgot to breathe several times and how her father whispered sweet endearing words into Astrid's ears. What was the most amazing was how a baby was pushed out from her mother, connected to the exhausted woman by a single thread of flesh.

"It's another girl!" The mid-wife exclaimed and wrapped the baby in a bundle of cloth before handing her over to Astrid.

"Come look Thora." Asabiarn gestured for his first born daughter to come over and she did so hesitatingly. "Come now." Finally she picked up the pace and marched over to her mother, gazing at the bundle she held. The baby did not have black hair like herself but blonde hair though her eyes were brown like her own.

"Same hair as you! Like a star!" She pointed at her mother who laughed and nodded. "We will call her Asta."

Another year passed and the baby turned a whole year while Thora turned five. They were a happy family and got along well with the people in the village who had taken Astrid and Asabiarn's grandparents in years ago. The village they had settled in was a quiet and peaceful one in the land of Rohan, hidden beside Fangorn Forest where no orc or any other enemy, not even many men, dared to come. But when the children turned seven and two, Astrid took them with her out for a walk outside the village's border. The day was beautiful for the sun shone, warming them even as the cold air tried to deter them from their walk. They were gone for many hours and Asabiarn wondered what was taking them so long. The sun did not stay long on the sky during winter but he thought the darkness came earlier than what was normal that day. Then he heard it and shivers crawled up his spin as well as the rest of the villagers who also heard it.

Howls were heard, echoing in the dark. It was not wolves but wargs which meant that there would be orcs. The villagers grew afraid and hid inside their homes for never before had any orc dared to come close to their village for over a century but Asabiarn would not hide for his wife and children were still out there. He rallied what few men who dared to go out of their homes and left the village looking for his family. The hours dragged on and they heard no more howls but neither did they find Asabiarn's family until they heard it. A faint sound of crying could be heard and Asabiarn's spirit lifted. It could only be the missing woman and girls. They cried out for them to answer as they hurried towards the sound but no one answered. The crying only grew louder.

Tears of relief gathered in Asabiarn's eyes when the torches the men carried lit up the area and he saw two bare arms encircle the youngest child. She was the one who was crying. As the light grew he saw that it was Thora who was cradling her sister to her but her clothes were torn and shredded. There was barely any scrap of clothing left on her. Quickly he gathered the crying child and shushed her before handing her over to one of the men with him. He pulled his cloak off his shoulders and wrapped his eldest in it before he called out for his wife.

"Astrid! Astrid!" But no reply was to be heard. He walked only a few steps more before he saw the bloody corpse of his wife, whose lifeless eyes stared up at the dark, cloud-filled sky. With a howl of anguish he fell to his knees before her, clinging to Thora as he wept. After that, the times changed for the next day when the children woke up their eyes were no longer brown. Thora's had become yellow while Asta's had become an icy cold blue.

When Thora at last dared to venture out the door of her home children who had once been her friends ran away from her, frightened by her oddly colored eyes. It did not take long for her to become a lonely child, abandoned by others and left to be alone. The only ones who did not shy away from her were her father and sister but soon that would also change.

One full moon two years later it happened. Thora had barely turned nine when the transformation, which would forever mark her and her sister as cursed children, happened. It had been violent and painful. She had first felt that something was not right, that something inside of her was changing. She had been right but she had not been prepared for the pain that followed. She screamed as her arm suddenly bent backwards and she could clearly hear and feel her bones breaking. The pain was intense and her screams had been heard by Asabiarn who hurried to her room. Her sister had also woken up and began crying as she saw her sister's arm bend. Before Asabiarn had managed to grab a hold of her she had slipped out the door.

_I must get out! _That was the only thought in her head. Something told her that she had to get out, out of the house. She had to get out! She had stumbled out into the open of the village and screamed again as her arm bended in front of her again but the angle was wrong. The other villagers had also come out, wondering what the commotion was all about but the moment they came out she looked up. Her eyes were no longer human ones and her teeth grew sharp, canines protruded over her lips. They stopped short in horror and watched as her long black hair fell onto her back and sank into her skin, creating a tail on her lower back. Soon enough fur started to grow out of her limbs and she fell to the ground, clutching her ribs as the sound of them breaking and reshaping into the skeleton of a wolf echoed all around. The villagers grabbed the rocks on the ground and threw them at her and she turned her back on them and bolted as fast as she could.

She did not reach the exit before she let out a pained shriek and fully transformed. Asabiarn came running out with Asta in his arms but she struggled madly to get out of his grip. He let her down and took a few cautious steps towards his eldest daughter, or what he thought to be his daughter. The panting wolf stood at the edge of the border, its shoulders heaving, its whole body trembling like a leaf, looking barely able to stand on its own feet. Asta turned her blue eyes on the villagers and they recoiled, for they were cold and full of anger, shining in the dark. Such dark emotions did not belong in the eyes of a child which meant only one thing. This was no ordinary child. Most of them dropped the rocks they held as she turned towards them for they were frightened. It was like these eyes laid their souls bare for the world to see. One threw a rock and it was by sheer luck that it missed the girl.

The wolf gave a loud howl, and Asta turned towards it and ran as fast as her short chubby legs would allow her. As if the wolf had been waiting for her she bowed down and allowed the girl to climb on. She howled one last time and many more sounded in the air. Other wolves had heard her and were beckoning her to them. Without looking back the two disappeared into the night.

"Thora! _Asta!_" Asabiarn cried out, begging them to come back but they did not. They never returned to that village ever again. They had disappeared into Fangorn Forest. In the land of Men, that was a death sentence in itself. A rumor soon spread across the village. It was no warg or orc that had slain Astrid but her very own daughters, for they were cursed children, the spawn of the darkest shadows.

But either by fate and destiny or luck, the forest had another visitor that night. Gandalf the Grey had come into Fangorn Forest for he was a friend of the Ents. There he found two children lying on the ground by the Ent, Treebeard's, trunk.

* * *

When Asta had finished their story the dwarves, and the lone hobbit, were staring at the girl and the wolf with mixed expressions. Some held pity, others disgust though she doubted it was turned towards them but rather the village she had lived in. Bilbo, she noticed, had turned green when she had begun to speak of the transformation and she couldn't blame him. The mere thought of having one's skeleton break and reshape itself into that of a beast did not sound appealing to her either.

"Your sister can turn into a great wolf but do you have a power as well or were the change of eye color the only thing that happened to you?" Bofur asked and Asta smiled bitterly.

"With my eyes I can hit a target in the dark as if it was daylight. I can take in every detail of every person I meet and I can see if they speak the truth or try to deceive me. The other power-" Here she paused and took out a dagger and the dwarfs cried out when she cut her left palm. She put the dagger down and curled the wounded hand into a fist. "Is to heal wounds inflicted on me or others." When she opened her fist and showed them her palm there was no wound there anymore, not even a scar.

"The only thing I do not have to concentrate on doing is to frighten others with the color, for it is alien even to the elves."

Kíli and Fíli looked at the ground, biting their lips and furrowing their brows. The dark haired one reached out and ruffled Thora's fur in silent comfort and to Asta's surprise her sister accepted it. Thora hated pity but the blonde girl thought that maybe it was not pity that they were receiving but rather a display of compassion to show that the dwarves had no plans on abandoning them like their village had done. She turned towards Thorin and her eyes widened for his held cold anger and disgust. His hands were clenched into fists and she could hear his teeth grit together.

"Cursed children?" He ground out and she swallowed. "I see no cursed children. Only two women who survived what the world threw at them. What you have is a gift, for you have learned to control it!" Asta blinked, for that seemed to be a compliment of some sort.

"You two have indeed had it rough." Balin said in a comforting manner but she shook her head.

"I do not remember the incident myself, I was too young. And we were found by Gandalf the same night we ran away. He has been taking care of us, together with many of his friends, such as Radagast the Brown. Even the Ents took care of us at one time. We are some of the few who can wander in Fangorn Forest without being in danger for the trees recognize us." Thora suddenly shook Kíli's hand off her head and yawned. The tension that had been steadily building up as the story darkened disappeared and Thorin nodded at the others.

"Get some sleep. We leave at first light." He reminded them and they did as told for the trek across the mountain would be hard and dangerous

As soon as the wolf was asleep, Asta snuggled into her sister's fur. It was still wet but not soaked as it had been before she had shaken off the rain from her coat and even then she was warm and Asta was cold. She slept peacefully for a few hours but no more than that.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Everything but my OC's belongs to Tolkien, the creator of Middle-Earth.**

* * *

Thora opened her eyes and raised her head from the ground. Something had woken her up and it was not the snores from the dwarves or the conversation between the Halfling and Bofur. It was something else, a scratching sound from beneath her, a loud _thump thump thump _noise as well. She shook her head, it couldn't be. It was impossible, she thought, until she saw Bilbo pull up his blade which shone brightly.

_Goblins!_ She thought but that was all she managed to do before Thorin yelled for everyone to awaken. It proved to be useless for everyone woke up when the ground opened up beneath them and swallowed them whole, an eerie glow of orange created by torches was the only light they had as they fell down and down and down. They yelled and screamed as they fell and Thora just managed to grab a blanket and wrap it around herself before they all landed in a heap inside a wide wooden circle that looked like a huge bowl. Thora rolled over just in time to avoid being flattened by Bombur as he was the last to land in the circle. The complaining moans from the dwarves who were unfortunate enough to not being able to dodge him proved to her that her choice had been wise.

The first thing Ori noticed was that there was a pale, naked, slender leg across his chest. His face turned red in embarrassment before the goblins were upon them. They all tried to fight back but there were six goblins to each dwarf and human and therefore they had no choice but to follow their captors though they did not do so willingly. They did offer some resistance and pushed the goblins that grabbed a hold of them away for the ugly creatures, littered with sores and boils as they were, showed their captives no mercy as they pinched them and pushed them down the one path away from the wooden circle they had been caught in.

The pathways of wood were like a labyrinth but the goblins, who knew them well, led them at a great pace towards their goal. After having been forced to run through the dark passages, tripping and stumbling a few times, they were finally led into a huge hollow in the mountain where even more goblins were gathered. They shrieked and laughed, stamped their swords and feet onto the wooden bridges they were standing on as they pointed their bony and crooked fingers at them. The noises were intimidating and Thorin's company felt fear creep up in their hearts. Goblins always made a ruckus to instill fear in the heart of their prey.

More than once on their trip did Thora punch a goblin in the face and slap away their grabby hands for more than once did they pull on the blanket she had wrapped around herself and she would not let herself bee seen naked by these foul beasts, or the dwarves around her either. They were shoved in front of a huge goblin, the Great Goblin, the leader of the goblins in the Misty Mountains. Their weapons the goblins had gathered and before the Great Goblin they were thrown in a heap. When the leader jumped off his throne he flattened a group of his own who he used as a stool to get on his throne. Thora looked around. Her sister was standing beside Thorin though the amount of goblins nearly blocked her view of the blonde. She turned her head to the other side and noticed Kíli standing only two steps in front of her. She grabbed his arm and tugged him backwards, speaking in a hushed whisper even though there was no need, for the goblins in the cave yelled and laughed.

"Kíli!" She hissed. The dark haired dwarf turned towards her and his eyes widened at the sight of the unknown girl. He tilted his head downwards in a questioning manner.

"Thora?" He seemed uncertain for he had never seen her in a human form before. Throughout the days the two had traveled with the dwarves she had kept to her beast form. If it wasn't for her being a mirror-image of Asta with the exception of the hair and eye color, not to mention her skin being much paler than her sister's, he would never have guessed her to be the wolf. He also noticed that while it did nothing to hide her womanly figure she was more muscled than her sister. It may have been because of her being Asta's mount while in wolf-form.

"Lend me your coat." She whispered as the goblin leader swung his scepter back and forth. First then did Kíli notice that she was only wearing a blanket which she had wrapped tightly around herself. The knot was on her left side making the blanket split from her left hip and down her leg. Had they been in any other situation than being captives of goblins without their weapons and clearly outnumbered he would have made a comment with a cheeky grin, hoping to embarrass her or maybe to get a witty response in return, but he held his tongue and quickly pulled off his coat, handing it to her. She quickly and silently put it on and buttoned it up but she did not pull off the blanket. After all, he was a head shorter than her and therefore she didn't dare to remove it if they could manage to make a run for it.

Asta looked around, trying to locate her sister as well and saw her take Kíli's coat. She wanted to call out to her, ask if she was alright but a hand seized her wrist and held on so tight it almost hurt.

"Do no say a word." Thorin grit out, lips hardly moving. His eyes glanced at her before settling back on the Great Goblin and she nodded, tugging on her hand as a signal to let him know he could let go but he didn't. He slackened his grip slightly but did not let go. He glanced down at her hand and she did as well, realizing that she was trembling, terribly.

_Is he offering me comfort? Does he think me frightened by these creatures or by the nightmare I just experienced before our capture? _She had been dreaming of when they were children. Not everything had been a dance on roses.

"Who would be so bold to come armed into my kingdom?" The Great Goblin drew himself into his full height, his bloated chin swung from left to right as he moved and also he was full of sores and boils like his people.

"Spies?" He demanded and his voice raised an octave and became shrill. "Thieves? _Assassins_?!" One of the goblins answered for the dwarves were adamant on keeping their lips sealed.

"Dwarves, your malevolence."

"Dwarves?"

"We found them on the Front Porch!"

"Well don't just stand there! Search them! Every crevice!" The Great Goblin ordered. Thora had just managed to button up the last button when the goblin King gave his order and was lucky enough that the goblins only pulled a bit on her blanket, which she shoved them away for mind you, and did not rip the cloak off of her. One of the goblins grabbed Oin's ear trumpet and threw it to the ground, stomping on it. Asta saw a shadow throw themselves at the offending goblin and tackle it to the ground in a chokehold.

There were few things Thora hated, for hate is a strong word and should not be misused. The first was humans; for they threw aside everything they did not understand and treated it as something that should not have been brought into the world. The second was orcs and goblins, for their existence only caused other's misery. They were cruel creatures with black hearts but what she despised the most was disrespect towards others. To Thora's frustration, and ironically her salvation, she did not manage to strangle the goblin to death before she was pulled off and held down.

"What's this, what's this?" The Great Goblin grabbed a hold of her chin and lifted it up. He let go as if burned and then laughed, his raspy laugh echoing in the hollow. "Well, well, now this is a surprise. My people, it seems we have esteemed guests." The goblin looked at his prisoners and saw Asta as well. Her eyes unnerved him but he did not let it show.

"The cursed children of Rohan! The outcasts, the abandoned ones. Forever cast away from their own!"

"We were not cast away. We chose to leave!" Asta ran forward and made to remove the goblins holding her sister but six more jumped forward and held her back. The dwarves began to fight again for they did not like the way the Great Goblin spoke and how the women were treated. Their arms were bent back in such an angle that it forced them on their knees and Thora's naked ones gained cuts and bruises from the hard wooden platform beneath her.

"Ah, ah, but that is not what I have heard!" The Great goblin smiled wickedly at the two. "I have heard that the run-away's returned and pleaded to be allowed to go home. They were shunned and turned away, even by their own father." Asta furrowed her brows and growled.

"That is not true! Our father loved us! We ran away from our home for his sake!"

"You must be the youngest then, for I am certain that my information is correct. You must have been too young to remember but this one does, do you not?" He turned towards Thora who had gone silent. "Ah, I seem to have struck a nerve." The goblins laughed but Asta turned towards her sister.

"Thora?" She did not like the way her sister's shoulders slumped as if in defeat. It was unnerving. "Thora, please answer." She whispered but the dark haired maiden only turned her gaze away from her and Asta felt something shatter within her.

"The eldest pleaded for the two to be allowed home but was struck down by the village leader while her father only watched. Oh yes, this was a tale I loved to hear. It took many blows before she changed into a beast and ripped the poor man apart and carried the youngest away again." The goblin king laughed wickedly. Asta's eyes widened and she looked between the goblin and her sister.

"How did it feel?" The goblin king leaned down towards Thora, all the while sneering at her. "Your first kill? What about the second?" He glanced at Asta and Thora stiffened as she recalled what had happened. It was a memory she wished she wouldn't remember but the trauma had, in a lack of better words, burned it into her brain. She would never get rid of it.

"I can see you hold each other dear." He mocked. "Did she never tell you?" He walked over to Asta. "How she killed-?"

"Shut your mouth!" Thora suddenly snarled and the goblins struggled to keep her down. "I killed the chief of the village and he was my first kill, I will admit that much, but I did not kill anyone else!" The Great Goblin stared at her for now he also felt her presence to be unnerving, her yellow eyes burning with rage and promise of pain should he continue his taunting. Waving an arm he changed the subject.

"You would want to watch your tongue, girl, for you are in my kingdom now and will answer my questions. What I want to know is what you are doing in my kingdom and with a company of dwarves no less!" None of the dwarves answered but only kept their expressions blank.

"Very well, if they won't talk, we'll make them squawk!" He ordered for instruments of torment and torture to be gathered in the hollow and that they would start with the youngest. Here he pointed at a terrified Ori but Thorin intervened, pushing himself to the front and thus making his presence known. Thora thought he looked like a king then, a lone dwarf who stood up against an army of goblins alone and even though the Great Goblin mocked him he stood straight with pride although he was clenching both fists and teeth in anger that he tried hard to control but the goblin king's next words shattered that control completely.

"I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just your head, nothing attached." He chuckled. "Perhaps you know of whom I speak. An old enemy of yours. A pale orc astride a white warg."

"Azog the Defiler was destroyed." Thorin hissed and this roused a smirk on the Great Goblin's face. "He was slain in battle long ago!"

"So you think his defiling days are over do you?" The Great Goblin turned from them and to an extremely tiny goblin that held a parchment in his hands. He appeared to be a goblin scribe. "Send word to the pale orc! Tell him I have found his prize!" Again the goblins began to cheer and laugh for they were expecting amusement and a wealthy payment for their prisoners. The Great Goblin turned towards his prisoners again and smirked as he reached for Thora's face. He grabbed her chin and yanked her up on her feet earning him a startled gasp and whimper.

"I do not like that sharp tongue of yours. I think I shall have it cut out from your mouth. Without it you and your sister will become nicer pets in their cage." For a moment fear overtook the young girl but her 'sharp tongue' as the goblin king had referred it as, would not be tamed by it.

"And I do not like the look in your eyes. Shall I pluck them out for you?" The goblin king laughed loudly then and grabbed her throat, lifting her up. "A sharp and clever tongue indeed." He tightened his grip and her hands flew to his wrist but they did not even manage to encircle his fat arm. Air was beginning to lack in her lungs and she gasped as she tried to wriggle her fingers between his hand and her throat.

"Let her down!" The dwarves cried out and began to struggle more than ever before but the goblin only laughed before two slender hands wrapped around his wrists. He let go of the girl as if he had been burned and howled. He stared at his arm where there were only clean skin, no boils or sores, but perfectly healthy skin which soon turned gray again.

"What did you do?" He screamed at Asta who held her gasping sister and pulled her inside the throng towards the others. "Don't you touch her!" Asta screamed back, her icy blue eyes shining in the dark cave and the Great Goblin took a wobbling step back for the unnerving eyes became terrifying. He pointed at her with his staff then and smirked to hide his fear.

"You!" His voice was shrill and it scarred their ears. "You will be first." His command carried a dark promise and it made the girl shudder in fear as she saw the instruments of torture that the goblins were bringing towards them. The dwarves paused to look at them before they again began to struggle madly. Some of them managed to land a few well-placed hits before their arms were restrained. As the goblins stamped their feet in the rhythm that their king was singing one of them grabbed a hold of the weapons the dwarves had brought with them and was inspecting them. He soon found Orcrist which he flung from himself as if he was burned while shrieking in horror. The Great Goblin shrieked also and fell back on his throne.

"I know that sword! It is the Goblin Cleaver!" The laughter turned into angry shrieks for Orcrist was a blade that they hated. They simply called it Biter but the story was the same. They hated it but they hated the ones that carried it more. Whips were pulled forth and they began beating Thorin with it for it was clear that he was the owner.

"Thorin!" His nephews yelled and Asta tried desperately to get to the dwarf lord for his face already began to turn red as the whips left marks but the goblins held them all back. A goblin suddenly flew past her and hit one of the attacking ones and they both fell off the platform and into the dark pit beneath them. She turned her head to see Thora grab one by the throat and throw him off as well. Her arms became bigger and thicker, the muscles standing out making them look more like a man's rather than a woman's. She was transforming only halfway and fur began to grow on her arms. It was by no means a beautiful sight for her eyes were no longer human and canines had grown. With these she intimidated the goblins as she snarled and growled at them. Asta found herself worrying over Thora more than the others. Having just returned from her beast form it was challenging for her to transform again. No it was outright dangerous! Her body could not handle the stress. Soon though they were all overrun again and Thorin was pulled to the ground as goblins threw themselves at him.

"Slash them! Beat them, kill them! Kill them all! _Cut off his head!"_ Just then, when all hope seemed to be lost a great brilliant beam of white light and a shockwave sent the goblins flying backwards, their torture tools were destroyed and the already fallen dwarves and humans were pinned to the ground. When the light disappeared there was only darkness for the torches had for a second died out but was again rekindled as if by magic. There stood one lone shadow, his pointed hat stretching for the roof of the hollow mountain, his staff and sword raised high and his deep voice spoke to the disoriented company as they tried to get their bearings together.

"Take up arms. Fight." Slowly they sat up and tried to get on their feet. "FIGHT!" He yelled and stormed forward, slashing and hacking away at the goblins that held his friends and they wasted no more time in getting up. They all tossed their weapons to each other and helped the wizard.

"He has the Foehammer!" The goblin king cried out. "The Beater!" Asta tossed Thora her great sword and the woman swung it high, the light of the torches causing it to glimmer, before she started to cut down the goblins one by one. Asta grabbed her bow and the few arrows the goblins had bothered to take with them but she did not manage to use it for there was no space for her to pull the bowstring. She could only use her bow to hit and push away any attacking creatures.

"Thorin!" Fíli yelled in warning and the dwarf lord looked behind him to see the Great Goblin swing his staff at him. Thorin reflected the attack and the goblin king fell of the platform with a yell, taking many of his people with him. That was their cue. They ran and ran, cutting down goblins that got in their way as they followed Gandalf who seemed to know the way outside.

"POLE!" Dwalin yelled and together with Fíli, Kíli, Glóin and Bifur, he used one of the railings on the bridge to push the goblins that charged at them from left to right off the platforms for the mass in front of them were too many to simply cut through. Once the mass had been taken care off they dropped the pole and instead used their swords to cut down any attacking goblin for the rest of the long run.

"Thora!" Asta yelled and her sister ducked her head just in time to let an arrow fly over her and hit a goblin between its eyes. In return Thora cut another charging goblin in half as her sister readied another arrow.

"Don't lose sight of the others!" Thora yelled to her sister who nodded and her eyes shone brightly as they roamed back and forth. It was becoming tiresome for the goblins came from every direction. Some even jumped onto the dwarves below them. Some had attempted that on Thora but she had either dodged them swiftly or they were shot down by Asta who ripped her precious few arrows out of the goblins as she passed by. Likewise was it if goblins jumped on Asta. Either they were cut down before they even reached her or they were pulled off of her and thrown into the abyss beneath the bridges.

"Cut the ropes!" Thorin yelled over his shoulder as they crossed a bridge and the moment they were all over it they did as told and the goblins on it fell down into darkness with the rest. Kíli had run to the front and just managed to block two arrows with his sword. He grabbed a ladder as Asta covered him by shooting her own arrows and together with Fíli, Bifur, Bofur and Bombur they ran towards the goblins, trapping some of them in it and pushing them back and off the platforms. They had to use it as a bridge for they came across a dead end. When everyone had crossed it they pushed it off the platforms to hinder the goblins if only for a short time. The goblins were crafty though, and they had more than one way across so the company was quickly swarmed again.

"Come, this way!" Gandalf cried out again and they followed him faithfully but the goblins' numbers didn't seem to dwindle for their anger only rose higher and higher as Orcrist and Foehammer killed more of their own as they pursued the company of Thorin. Gandalf lifted his staff and a bright light momentarily blinded them before a rock fell down on their path. Immediately they began pushing it and sent it rolling down the path they were running, squashing the unfortunate goblins that were in the way. Finally they could see a little light, a white light and not the orange glow of the torches, in front of them and knew that the exit was close but as they were about to pass the last bridge the Great Goblin jumped up through it and sneered down at them.

"You thought you could escape _me_?" He swung his staff and Gandalf fell back but the dwarves caught him and pushed him up on his feet again. "What are you going to do now, wizard?" Gandalf scowled and jumped forward, thrusting his staff into the Great Goblin's eye. The king dropped his staff to hold his eye and thus made himself an open target. Gandalf then cut deeply across his stomach and the goblin king fell to his knees.

"That will do it." Again Gandalf swung his sword and cut the Great Goblin's throat. That was the end of the Great Goblin and so there were only the goblins left but they were now surrounded on all sides and were wondering how to get out of this mess when they heard it.

_Crack_

"That… does not sound right." Asta turned her head around and up, trying to locate whatever was coming at them when the ground gave up under her. It had been the platform that had groaned under their weight and had given away and plummeted to the ground. They screamed as the platform slid down the walls and they would have fallen to their death if it was not for the mountain walls that suddenly tightened around them and slowed their fall. Together with Dwalin and Kíli Thora was trapped at the bottom of the pile of wood that had once been a platform. She slowly moved herself out from under it. Asta was getting up on her feet with the help of Gandalf for she had grabbed a hold of the old wizard when the platform gave away and had fallen off with him.

"Well, that could have been worse." Bofur spoke as he looked at Gandalf with a relieved smile. Out of nowhere, with a triumphant thump, the body of the Great Goblin landed on the top of the pile, nearly crushing them all.

"Oh you have to be _joking!_" Dwalin growled out. Thora grit her teeth as a pained cry passed by her lips. Unlike the others she had not been wholly trapped under the pile of dwarf and wood but her ankle had been and now it was twisted in an odd angle.

"Are you alright?" Asta asked as she ran to her sister but Kíli's sudden cries made them all look up. Hundreds of goblins were crawling down the walls towards them, shrieking in anger. Dwalin was pulling Nori out from under the rubble and looked at Gandalf, exhaustion clear on his face and voice.

"There's too many! We can't fight them!" Gandalf agreed and told them to run as he helped the last few up. Dwalin grabbed a hold of Thora and threw her over his shoulder. It was clear that she would not be able to keep up on her feet on her own. They ran down the dark passages, the light from Gandalf's staff the only thing allowing them to see where they were running. The pathway seemed endless until finally, at last, they could see light from the end of it. They were saved!


End file.
